Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, both 19 and originally from Kazakhstan, were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice. At the time of their arrests, the men were living in New Bedford.

Both men waived bail. They are scheduled to return to court on May 14.

Defense attorneys for both Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev deny their clients had any knowledge of Tsarnaev's role in the attacks.

"My client, Azamat Tazhayakov, feels horrible and was shocked to hear that someone that he knew was involved with the Boston Marathon bombing, just like many other individuals that were interviewed on campus. He has cooperated fully with authorities and looks forward to the truth coming out in this case," attorney Harlan Protass said.

"Dias Kadyrbayev absolutely denies the charges, as he has said since the beginning. He assisted the FBI in the investigation and is just as shocked and horrified by the violence as the rest of the community. He did not know that this individual was involved in the bombing. His first inkling came much later," defense attorney Robert Stahl said.

If convicted, Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev each face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

FBI Special Agent In Charge Richard DesLauriers and U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz both left the court on Wednesday without comment.

All of the charges outlined in the complaints involve the men's actions after the bombings, and there is no indication the men were involved in the planning or had any knowledge of the attack before it took place.

On the evening of April 18, according to the complaint, Phillipos told Kadyrbayev to put the news on because "one of the suspects in the marathon bombings looked familiar."

When Kadyrbayev saw the suspect images released by the FBI, he sent a text message to Tsarnaev at about 8:45 p.m., who replied "lol" and other things Kadyrbayev interpreted as jokes, such as "you better not text me" and "come to my room and take whatever you want."

According to the criminal complaints, Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev then helped the Tsarnaev brothers after the bombings by throwing away possible evidence, including a laptop and a backpack full of fireworks that was in the UMass Dartmouth dorm room of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Investigators say the pair knew Tsarnaev was a suspect in the bombings when they threw the items in a dumpster.

"Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov have admitted that they agreed to get rid of it after concluding from news reports that Tsarnaev was one of the Boston Marathon bombers," the complaint says.

The complaint says Kadyrbayev saw open and emptied fireworks in a bag and decided to remove the backpack from the room "in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble."

"He decided to take Tsarnaev's laptop as well because he did not want Tsarnaev's roommate to think he was stealing or behaving suspiciously by just taking the backpack," the complaint says.

The complaint says Kadyrbayev decided to get rid of the backpack and laptop when he saw the news early on the morning of April 19 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was dead and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was on the run.

"Kadyrbayev placed the backpack and fireworks along with trash gathered from the apartment into a large black trash bag and then threw the trash bag into a dumpster near the Carriage Drive (New Bedford) apartment," the complaint says.

Investigators spent several days searching a Dartmouth landfill for evidence in connection with the bombings last week, recovering the backpack wrapped in a black garbage bag, according to the complaint.

Phillipos denied knowing anything about the bombings in three interviews with investigators. During his fourth interview on Friday, he admitted his role and the roles of Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov in the aftermath of the attacks, the complaint says.

The complaint also says the men knew Tsarnaev knew how to make bombs before the marathon attacks.

Before their arrests in connection with the bombings, Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev had been held in a county jail for more than a week on immigration violations.

"(Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis) informed me this morning that they made the arrest of these individuals who helped one of the brothers after the bombing. The Boston police have been on their tails since the bombing and made the arrest early this morning," said Mayor Tom Menino.

Boston police said the three people do not pose a danger to the public.

"Boston is safer now than it has ever been," Menino said. "Law enforcement is doing their job, and I'm not worried at all."

Three people were killed and more than 260 injured on April 15 when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunfight with police in Watertown several days later. His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was found hiding in a Watertown neighborhood and is at a prison hospital.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's relatives will claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it, an uncle said. Tsarnaev's body has been at the medical examiner's office in Massachusetts since he died after a gunfight with authorities more than a week ago.

Minute-by-minute: How bombers attacked, evidence hidden

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New information continues to emerge about the two suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing. Federal documents breakdown how the Boston Bombing suspects reportedly carried out the attack, and show how close friends attempted to hide evidence from investigators.